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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 2A - Minutes ApprovalEUGENE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Approval of City Council Minutes Meeting Date: June 14, 2004 Agenda Item Number: 2A Department: City Manager's Office Staff Contact: Lynda Rose www. cl. eugene, or. us Contact Telephone Number: 682-5017 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY This is a routine item to approve City Council meeting minutes. SUGGESTED MOTION Move to approve the minutes of the February 10, 2004, Joint Elected Officials Meeting, May 10, 2004, Work Session, May 10, 2004, City Council Meeting, and May 12, 2004, Work Session. ATTACHMENTS A. February 10, 2004, Joint Elected Officials Meeting B. May 10, 2004, Work Session C. May 10, 2004, City Council Meeting D. May 12, 2004, Work Session FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Lynda Rose Telephone: 682-5017 Staff E-Mail: lynda.l.rose~ci.eugene.or.us L:\CMO\2004 Council Agendas\M040614\S0406142A. doc ATTACHMENT A MINUTES JOINT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS/ EUGENE CITY COUNCIL/ SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL MEETING February 10, 2004 5:30 p.m. Bascom/Tykeson Room--Eugene Library Commissioner Bobby Green presided, with commissioners Bill Dwyer, Anna Morrison, and Don Hampton present. Eugene Mayor James D. Torrey presided, with councilors Bonny Bettman, David Kelly, Scott Meisner, Gary Pape, George Polling, and Betty Taylor present. Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken presided, with councilors Anne Ballew, Tammy Fitch, David Ralston, and John Woodrow present. Staff Present: City Manager Dennis Taylor, Susan Muir, Kurt Yeiter, Nell Bj6rklund, City of Eugene; City Manager Mike Kelly, Joe Leahy, Greg Mott, Mark Metzger, City of Springfield; County Administrator Bill Van Vactor, Steve Vorhes, Lane County; Carol Heinkel, Kathi Wiederhold, George Kleoppel, Denise Kalakay, Lane Council of Governments. Mayor Torrey called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. Mr. Green called the meeting of the Lane Board of County Commissioners to order. He alerted those present who wished to discuss the Matthews property that the board would hold a public hearing on the topic the following day. Mayor Leiken called the meeting of the Springfield City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Amending the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area Plan (Metro Plan) to Adopt as Part of Periodic Review Metro Plan Housekeeping Revisions; a New Metro Plan Chapter III-C: Environmental Resources Element; a New Metro Plan Diagram; Adopting Savings and Severability Clauses; and Providing an Effective Date Carol Heinkel of the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) provided the elected officials with PowerPoint presentation regarding the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan Periodic Review text and diagram amendments. The presentation provided background on the process and described the public outreach that occurred. Ms. Heinkel explained that, at the direction of the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC), the periodic review work tasks were narrowed to only those required by the State of Oregon. She reported that only the natural resource work item, Springfield wetlands work item, and County adoption of the Springfield Drinking Water Study remained to be completed. Ms. Heinkel reported that the three planning commissions had recommended adoption of the amendments, which would make the Metro Plan consistent with new State laws and administrative rules. She indicated that some changes to the documents had been made following the planning commission MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials February 10, 2004 Page 1 Lane County, Eugene, and Springfield process at the recommendation of legal counsel. A new word changes were made to Exhibit B that were informally agreed to by those commissions. Ms. Heinkel called the elected officials' attention to Exhibits A (Metro Plan Housekeeping Revisions, Other Text Amendments), Exhibit B (Metropolitan Natural Resources Study), and Exhibit C (Metro Plan Diagram Changes), which reflected the changes being proposed. She identified those work tasks that would be the subject of the public hearing, and noted that Lane County would hold a public hearing immediately after on its riparian regulations. Ms. Wiederhold provided further detail regarding Exhibit B. She described the various elements of the Natural Resources Study and noted the associated subtasks. She summarized the key amendments proposed to Chapter III-C of the Metro Plan. Mr. Yeiter provided further detail on the revisions to the Metro Plan Diagram. He noted that the LCOG RLID system provided the mapping before the elected officials, and allowed the development of a more detailed diagram. He briefly noted changes being proposed to the diagram, including the removal of the urban reserves. Mr. Metzer briefly reviewed revisions being proposed to the Springfield side of the Metro Plan Diagram, reporting that change were being proposed to reflect actual and future uses. Ms. Heinkel called attention to new replacement page II-G-l, distributed to the elected officials. She emphasized the diagram was transitioning to a parcel-specific map. Ms. Heinkel said the purpose of the meeting was for the elected officials to hear public testimony on the plan text and diagram amendments. She said that following the hearing, staff would respond to the public testimony. The three elected bodies would take separate action, with tentative action set for the Eugene council on March 10; the Springfield council on March 15; and the Lane County board on March 16. She said that, following action by the elected officials, the completed work tasks would be submitted to the Department of Land Conservation and Development for acknowledgement. Ms. Heinkel anticipated the region would continue metropolitan planning efforts that met the needs of the three jurisdictions. Mayor Torrey called for comments and questions. Mr. Kelly commended the reorganization of the document. He requested that the Eugene council be provided with copies of the Eugene Planning Commission's minutes reflecting its discussion on the topics before the elected officials prior to the work session at which the council would take action. Responding to a question fi.om Mr. Kelly about the tense used in the findings associated with the new Environmental Resource Element ("Lane County, Springfield, and Eugene jointly completed the Goal 5 requirements for the area between the UGB and the plan boundary"), Ms. Wiederhold explained that the text was written as though the elected officials had acted. When and if the officials adopted the findings, that statement would be a fact. Responding to a question fi.om Mr. Kelly about the two Willamette Greenway policies proposed for deletion, Ms. Heinkel explained that both policies speak to the implementation of State Goal 15, and they were replaced by a new Finding 11 that spoke to how that implementation would be accomplished. MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials February 10, 2004 Page 2 Lane County, Eugene, and Springfield Ms. Ballew asked how the Emerald Peoples Utility District court action regarding service to the area now served by Pacific Gas & Electric affected the proposals before the elected officials. Ms. Heinkel said that staff was aware of the action and would respond to the question in writing after more research. Responding to a question from Ms. Fitch regarding the staff recommendation to insert the objectives, Ms. Heinkel said the planning commissions had not reviewed the change. The staff recommendation to include the objectives was based on legal advice from Lane County's counsel that they provided legislative intent. Mr. Kelly referred to the Energy Section in the Metro Plan and asked why Policy J1, which recommended the coordinated development of a detailed metropolitan energy management plan, was proposed to struck. He thought the exercise would be a valuable one. Ms. Heinkel noted the change was included in the housekeeping items and explained that the effort had been attempted but abandoned due to a lack of interest. Mr. Kelly expressed interest in knowing the opinions of others as he thought the idea had merit. Mr. Kelly asked why the Willamette Greenway study was dropped. Ms. Heinkel said the State legislature passed Senate Bill 920, which set out the mandated periodic work task items and gave local jurisdictions the opportunity to stop work on nonmandated items. The study was in draft form but the work item was removed from the work plan because it was not mandated. The continuation of the study was a separate question from periodic review. In response to a question from Mr. Kelly regarding the elimination of Forest Policy 17 from Exhibit B and where its intent was captured, Ms. Heinkel agreed to follow-up in writing. Mr. Pap~ referred to page II-A-2 of the packet and asked Eugene staff to respond in writing as to whether Policy 6 had constituted the basis for the Lane County Local Government Boundary Commission's recent denial of Springfield' s annexation to the Willakenzie Fire District. Ms. Fitch asked if staff had considered, through the housekeeping changes, developing a clear diagram amendment process in a manner that protected the home rule rights of each jurisdiction. Ms. Heinkel indicated that an early periodic work task had streamlined the process outlined in Chapter 4 but she agreed more work was needed. She thought the effort went beyond housekeeping, and could be a work program item that staff could scope for the elected officials. Responding to a follow-up question from Ms. Fitch, Ms. Heinkel said that periodic review was mandated, and the State-mandated work tasks were outlined in Senate Bill 920. None of the mandated work tasks addressed Ms. Fitch's concerns. Mayor Torrey suggested that none was a good time to get certainty around the question asked by Ms. Fitch. He thought the elected officials should deal with the issue if they could. Ms. Morrison expressed hope that the elected officials would not have to revisit some of the residential lands studies as a result of the statement in II-A-2 regarding population decreases. Ms. Heinkel assured her it did not result in that. She said the number referred to by Ms. Morrison was a clarification of the previous population figure, which was for a study area and did not relate to the urban growth boundary. Mr. Kelly agreed with Mayor Torrey that clarity about such processes were needed. He noted that Eugene had also discussed the potential formation of service districts. He was interested in focusing on the task before the elected officials as he thought the item would require both money and additional effort. MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials February 10, 2004 Page 3 Lane County, Eugene, and Springfield Responding to Mr. Kelly, Ms. Fitch said the reality of the situation was that if a change desired by one jurisdiction could be vetoed by another jurisdiction. She said Springfield worked to be a good partner but had some key issues coming up. She believed the response to those issues could be key to how Springfield could partner together with the other jurisdictions in the future. Ms. Heinkel indicated that staff could prepare a scope of work for the desired effort, as well as a process for how it was accomplished, which could inform the elected officials' thinking about timing and funding. Ms. Bettman said she was interested in knowing the cities' roles in land use issues in the area outside the city limits but inside the UGB. She thought those decisions could be of interest to the neighboring city. However, it was her interpretation of the materials that discrepancies were to be resolved by the MPC. As a council appointee to the MPC, she had experienced frustration with the way issues were processed through that body. If the MPC was the conflict resolution body for the Metro Plan, it should be employed until a change is made. If a change to the process was to be made, it should be made through the MPC rather than at this time. Mr. Dwyer said the Metro Plan applied to all partner jurisdictions and represented a plan of how best local government could deliver services to citizens and involves them in the process. He did not object to discussion of a metropolitan service system that changed the way services were delivered and saved taxpayers money. However, he thought such discussions should come later. He wanted to involve people living in the areas outside the cities in the discussions as he thought they had a role to play as well. Mr. Green said he was encouraged that people wanted clarity about the process of amending the plan. He said the board was interested in win-win solutions and wanted what was best for the entire region. He said the board was willing to engage in discussions about change but at this time he preferred to focus on the amendments. He asked Ms. Heinkel to scope the effort required and the estimated cost. Mayor Torrey expressed appreciation to Ms. Fitch for raising the issue. He summarized the discussion, saying that he too would like to see the issue referred to the MPC for further consideration. The MPC could determine whether it wished to forward a recommendation to the individual jurisdictions. The individual bodies could do what they wished with the recommendation. There was no objection. Ms. Bettman indicated that a comment section describing the reasons for changes to the policies in the housekeeping section would be appropriate. Mr. Dwyer suggested the elected officials needed to consider other models for service delivery that addressed regional concerns. He asked staff to give the elected officials ideas about those models so they had a place to start. Mayor Torrey reviewed the format for the public hearing. Ms. Fitch advocated that those wishing to testify about the Matthews property be allowed to speak to the elected officials given what she believed to be the relevance of the issue to future possible amendments. Mr. Green indicated he would request those offering testimony about the Matthews property to speak last. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing for the Eugene City Council. Mr. Green opened the public hearing for the Lane Board of County Commissioners. MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials February 10, 2004 Page 4 Lane County, Eugene, and Springfield Mayor Leiken opened the public hearing for the Springfield City Council. Lauri Segel, 120 West Broadway, Eugene, spoke on behalf of 1,000 Friends of Oregon. She submitted written testimony for the record. Ms. Segel referred to the goal 3 and 4 policies and suggested there was inconsistency in the policy language. She cited Policy C-1 as an example, saying with within the policy statement there were relevant factors for determining what land would be considered for inclusion in the UGB. The factors included several factors such as ownership patterns and proximity to agricultural soils or current farm uses. Those factors were not reflected in State law or statute; she maintained there were statutes forbidding the metropolitan area from taking those factors into consideration. She cited Oregon Revised Statute 660.033.0030, which stated that Goal 3 attached no significance to ownership when determining a parcel was agricultural. She also found a Goal 4 inconsistency in that the policy language defined forests based on US Department of Agricultural soil ratings translated into productivity ratings and existing forest cover. She maintained that in State rules forest lands were those acknowledged to be forest lands. Robert Emmons, 40093 Little Fall Creek Road, Fall Creek, spoke to policies in Goal 5. He recommended the following amendment to existing Policy 25: "Springfield, Lane County, and Eugene shall consider downstream impacts for water quality when planning for urbanization, flood control, urban storm runoff, and recreational needs in near proximity to the Willamette and McKenzie rivers. He suggested that Policy 29 be changed to "The air, water, and land resource quality of the metropolitan area has not been assessed since adoption of the Metro Plan in 1982. Prior to the completion of the next Metro Plan update, the air, water, and land resource quality of the metropolitan area must be reassessed." Mr. Emmons disagreed with a contention in the plan that the Goal 5 wetland and riparian corridor requirements for the area between the UGB and plan boundary adequately addressed fish habitat, saying it was not substantiated and staff should be identifying how fish habitat was being protected. He believed the current Lane County riparian setbacks were inadequate to protect fish habitat. He recommended one tree length as the minimum distance needed. He called for the reconsideration and strengthening of the habitat conservation zone proposal. Jerry Rifler, 1865 Yolanda Avenue, Springfield, said he represented Oregon Communities for a Voice in Annexation. He indicated his organization's support for policies that required new development to pay for the cost of the capacity needed to serve it. He supported the inclusion of language regarding voluntary annexation and asked that the text be revised to include all unincorporated areas in the UGB, suggesting that to do otherwise was a violation of Oregon's equal protection clause. He said that those in the unincorporated areas were not interested in annexing to Springfield. He indicated strong support for citizen involvement but did not think the Metro Plan represented the public will as he believed it had little public involvement. Mr. Ritter submitted written testimony. Debra Jeffries, 3800 North Delta Highway, Eugene, said the map continued to portray her property incorrectly. She asked that the map be corrected. Ms. Jeffries commended Lane County for taking the Safe Harbor approach to wetlands protection as she believed it demonstrated economic responsibility. She said Eugene had budgeted considerable money for its effort and was not close to being done because of the inventory requirement. She asked the elected officials to pay attention to the economics of the issue. Ms. Jeffries asserted that the MPC process did not work for periodic review. She further asserted that the State did not require an inventory and evaluation of Goal 5 resources. She interpreted the intent and MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials February 10, 2004 Page 5 Lane County, Eugene, and Springfield purpose of the relevant Oregon Administrative Rule as establishing procedures and criteria for the purpose, and asked that the elected officials review the rule. Jim Hale, 1715 Linnea Avenue, Eugene, a member of the committee that created the first Metro Plan, advocated that the community discard the Metro Plan and begin again. He said the data the document was based upon was not up-to-date. He said the elected officials should consider the most effective and inexpensive way to deliver services, and called on them to discard the principle that cities were the providers of urban services. Mr. Hale advocated for metropolitan service districts governed by the Board of County Commissioners. He called on the elected officials to spend more money on police services. Mr. Hale asked the elected officials to do things "differently" in a way citizens could easily see, and perhaps save more money to do other things the community wished to accomplish. Jan Wilson, 1260 President Street, Eugene, asked that the written record be left open so she could address some of the issues raised at the earlier work session. She opposed the Safe Harbor approach and urged Lane County not to adopt it. She opposed the elimination of statements that required the performance of an ESEE analysis. She asked for the inclusion of a policy that prioritized the ESEE process to protect sites on the inventory when proposed for development. Bruce Miller, PO Box 50968, Eugene, did not address the subject of the hearing but instead announced an upcoming meeting of the State Board of Higher Education. Robert O'Brian, 3525 Gilham Road, Eugene, expressed concern about the deletion of the Willamette Greenway Study from the periodic review process. He expressed concern about the potential of further development in the Greenway, and suggested the fact there was a State goal related to the Willamette River spoke to its importance to Oregonians. Mr. O'Brian cited OAR 660.015.0005. He asked the elected officials to ensure the study was done, even if not mandated. Roxie Cuellar, 2053 Laura Street, Springfield, represented the Lane County Homebuilders Association, also asked that the record be kept open. She asked the elected officials to reconsider the findings and policies associated with the residential lands supply. Ms. Cuellar said there was a change in the population estimate. The Residential Land Use Study relied on a range of numbers, and there was now a change in the finding that was limited to a single number, which affected the other factors in the study. It made some of the findings, such as Finding 3 related to needed housing units, inaccurate. She thought if the population estimate was to be changed, other things should be changed as well. She suggested the former population estimate be retained. Ms. Cuellar also suggested the tables in the document should be dated. Kevin Matthews, 120 West Broadway, representing the Friends of Eugene, also asked that the record be left open. He noted the completion of other studies and advocated for the completion of the Natural Resources Study. He said that there was discussion of running Highway 99 along the riverfront, so the planning was critical. Mr. Matthews suggested that the result of some of the changes being proposed would be to water down the Metro Plan so it was consistent with the community's inability to do effective natural resource planning. He asked the elected officials to maintain the Metro Plan's requirements for substantive natural resource planning with an effective completion date, and to discard the amendments before them. Steve Moe, PO Box 847, Springfield, also a member of the original committee that created the Metro Plan, suggested that the plan was not fulfilling its initial intent, which was to bring all the partners together to process land use decisions of an area-wide impact in a positive way. He said that while MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials February 10, 2004 Page 6 Lane County, Eugene, and Springfield Springfield had declined to involve itself in Eugene's 6th/7th widening project, the Lane County board had inserted itself in the ambulance district issue faced by Eugene and used its veto power to affect events. He thought the fact one jurisdiction could veto a major project in another jurisdiction was a serious problem. Mr. Moe pointed out that Eugene-Springfield was the only Oregon community with such a planning pact and advocated for each city to move forward with its own general plan to recognize the uniqueness of each community. James Seaberry, 3294 Stark Street, Eugene, did not understand the prohibition on special districts now included in the plan. He invited the elected officials to contact him so he could share his thoughts with them. Rob Handy, 455-1/2 River Road, Eugene, spoke of his concerns regarding development pressures in the Willamette Greenway, and asked the elected officials to complete the Willamette Greenway Study to demonstrate the community's concern about the river. He said the plan was otherwise inconsistent with Goal 15. Mark Rabinowitz, 28549 Suthem Lane, Eugene, supported the removal of the urban reserves from the Metro Plan Diagram. However, he objected that the plan appeared to be a lot of polices without any follow-through. As an example, he cited policies related to conservation and what he considered a contrary decision to construct the West Eugene Park. He said the parkway should be canceled as it was his opinion the projections about the number of cars it would carry were exaggerated. Mr. Rabinowitz shared his personal philosophy about the use of petroleum products with the elected officials, which he believed represented sufficient reason to revise the plan to prepare for a time when petroleum products were more expensive. John Louch, 715 West 4t~ Avenue, Eugene, representing Eugene School District 4J. He supported the removal of the Public Lands designation for surplus property in Santa Clara owned by the school district. He said the district was attempting to rezone the property in advance of marketing it. The property was currently zoned Public Lands/Neighborhood Commercial. It was adjacent to neighborhood commercial uses. Mr. Louch noted the staff suggestion the designation would revert to low-density residential if designated, and asked that the property be redesignated for commercial use instead. He pointed out that the current diagram was from the 1982 plan, and it showed an undefined amount of commercial property along River Road. He believed that was a sensible conclusion given the exposure of the property to the intersection of River Road and Hunsaker Lane. He said that more commercial land, rather than less, would provide the district with greater flexibility and maximize the revenue from the property's sale. Jim Spickerman, 975 Oak Street, Suite 800, represented School District 4J. He echoed Mr. Louch's request for the Santa Clara property owned by the school district as well as for other district-owned properties. He suggested the elected officials could make the adjustment at this time, and recommended it rely on the adopted 1982 Metro Plan Diagram. Steve Ward, 84434 Pheasant Lane, Pleasant Hill, expressed concern about the removal of the urban reserves and questioned the adequacy of the developable land remaining in the community. He said the removal of the reserves would make it more difficult for him to annex the property he owned in that area. He believed the value of his land would be diminished as a result. Mr. Ward concurred with the written submission of the Lane County Homebuilders Association. He said the land available for development should be increased. MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials February 10, 2004 Page 7 Lane County, Eugene, and Springfield Bill Kloos, PO Box 11906, Eugene, representing the Lane County Homebuilders Association, said that under State statute, the community needed to have a 20-year supply of developable land. He suggested the reserves be retained because they could come in handy in the future. Mr. Kloos said the absence of a parcel-specific Metro Plan Diagram was a serious problem. Such a diagram was needed. He was often unable to respond to his clients when they asked what their properties were designated. Mr. Kloos noted that two Web sites, one containing an Excel spreadsheet with parcels and the second with a parcel-specific Metro Plan Diagram, had been removed from the LCOG web site following the hearing before the Joint Planning Commissions. He said that rather than moving away from parcel specificity, the community should be moving toward it. He did not understand that. There being no further requests to speak, Mayor Torrey deemed the oral portion of the public hearing closed. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to hold the record for the Eugene City Council open for ten days. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Fitch, seconded by Ms. Ballew, moved to hold the record for the Springfield City Council open for ten days. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Dwyer, seconded by Mr. Hampton, moved to hold the record for the Lane County Board of County Commissioners open for ten days. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Heinkel indicated the record would remain open until February 20, 2004. Staff addressed the testimony. Ms. Heinkel anticipated the majority of the staff resp~3nse would be in writing. Speaking to the testimony offered by Mr. Hale, Ms. Heinkel clarified that the periodic review process was note intended to be a visioning process or a redraft of the Metro Plan; that did not mean there were not other changes that were required, and some were discussed tonight. Speaking to Ms. Cuellar's testimony, Ms. Heinkel clarified the projection had not changed; it was the projection for the UGB. Staff recommended the changes before the elected officials because the planning commissions had pointed out there were three different projections in the plan. Staff reviewed the document and determined where different projections were needed. She said the projection change did not change the findings, conclusions, or policies of the Residential Lands Study. Speaking to Mr. Kloos' testimony, Ms. Heinkel said the intent of the diagram changes and the recommended text changes were to make the diagram parcel-specific except where a parcel borders more than one designation. Those interpretations would be made with input from the community. Mayor Torrey invited questions and comments. Ms. Bettman asked how many parcels bordered on more than one designation. Ms. Heinkel said the vast majority of parcels would be parcel-specific in the new diagram. Ms. Bettman questioned what resources MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials February 10, 2004 Page 8 Lane County, Eugene, and Springfield would be needed to accomplish the goal of a truly parcel-specific diagram. Ms. Heinkel said she would attempt to secure a cost estimate. Ms. Bettman asked if the population projection could be characterized as clear and objective. Ms. Heinkel said yes. The methodology used went through a public process and was overseen by an advisory committee. She said that the projection was not an exact science, and a certain amount of policy was involved. Responding to a question from Ms. Bettman, Ms. Heinkel confirmed the projection was based on the census. Mr. Sorenson determined from Ms. Wiederhold that there was no change to the number of air monitoring site in the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan as a result of the plan amendments. Mr. Sorenson expressed concern a single monitoring site might not be adequate. Mr. Sorenson noted a loss of manufacturing employment in the United States and asked if that change was being reflected in local planning documents. Ms. Heinkel said the Economic Element of the plan was not updated as part of periodic review. She said the issue was last examined through the Metropolitan Industrial Lands Study of 1990. Mr. Sorenson suggested the topic had an impact on the population estimates. Ms. Heinkel indicated she would provide the elected officials with information about the methodology used to establish the projections. Ms. Nathanson asked staff to respond to the issue of mapping raised by Ms. Jeffries. She also asked that staff provide the Eugene council with a list of pros and cons for redesignating the property owned by School District 4J as requested. She also requested staff comment on the subject of whether there should be an urban reserve, suggesting the council be provided with the minutes reflecting its initial discussion on the proposal. Responding to a question from Mr. Pap~ regarding the population estimate, Ms. Heinkel reviewed the methodology for the population projection and clarified there was no new estimate and old estimate; instead, the projection staff proposed to replace in the Metro Plan was for what had been formerly termed the Metro Study Area, which was based on census tracts. Ms. Bettman recalled the decision to remove the urban reserves was made previously because of the State determination they were no longer necessary, and the plan was now being amended to reflect that change. Ms. Heinkel concurred. Responding to a question from Ms. Bettman, Ms. Heinkel said the elected officials should change a parcel's designation if the change was demonstrated to be consistent with the Metro Plan Diagram. Ms. Bettman feared that if the elected officials were to do so, others would be impelled to seek a similar change. Mr. Yeiter said the "blob" diagram made it difficult to discern the designation for the property. He said if the elected officials chose not to change the designation for the properties, the district was likely to see a Metro Plan amendment. He said that staff may offer options for the Eugene council to consider. Ms. Bettman said in such cases Eugene should be scrupulous, consistent, and fair. If such a window was to be opened, it should be open to all. Mr. Yeiter spoke to the issue of a parcel-specific diagram. He said staff differed as to the utility of such a diagram. He said there were many issues to be worked out, such as what happened when someone sought a lot line adjustment; there were currently no rules for such a parcel-specific diagram, and he asked what happened in the case of split parcel; did one designation supercede another? He said new rules and MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials February 10, 2004 Page 9 Lane County, Eugene, and Springfield perhaps a streamlined minor Metro Plan amendment process might be needed. He said that staff did not want Mr. Kloos' clients to be in the position of seeking a Metro Plan amendment in such cases. Ms. Fitch requested a staff response to Ms. Cuellar's testimony regarding the statutory requirement for a 20-year land supply, and if the requirement existed, why it was not being fulfilled. Mayor Torrey recalled the Eugene council's discussion about the switching land inside and outside of the UGB to accommodate a new City park and asked how that topic related to the discussion at hand. Mr. Yeiter said the area under discussion was currently in the urban reserves and did not meet the current State rules for those reserves. He had considered making a recommendation to the council to retain the reserve, but the State priorities for where the reserve could be expanded were very specific. The top priority was for reserves adopted prior to the rule, which Eugene's did not meet. The State also stipulated that such expansion would not occur on prime agricultural land, which some of the land in question was. He said he would do additional research to determine what could be accomplished inside of periodic review. Ms. Fitch asked what goals took priority. She suggested the lack of a 20-year land supply would mean the community was out-of-compliance with State laws. Ms. Heinkel said the community was required to have a 20-year land supply at the time of periodic review, or during a legislative review of the UGB. She said that the three jurisdictions had completed the Residential Lands Study as part of periodic review. She said the urban reserves were not related to the supply of land inside the UGB because of their location and because they were designed to accommodate land needs beyond the 20-year horizon. Mr. Dwyer determined from Ms. Heinkel that through the periodic review process, the three jurisdictions will have completed the metropolitan portion of the National Resources Study. She indicated that jurisdiction-specific work remained to be completed, and that effort was underway. Responding to a question from Ms. Taylor, Ms. Heinkel indicated a written response regarding the testimony on the Willamette Greenway Study would be provided to all the elected officials. Ms. Morrison, seconded by Mr. Dwyer, moved third reading of the ordinance. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:01 p.m. (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials February 10, 2004 Page 10 Lane County, Eugene, and Springfield ATTACHMENT B MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room--City Hall May 10, 2004 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, Betty Taylor, Gary Pap6, Jennifer Solomon, David Kelly. His Honor Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting to order. A. WORK SESSION: Discussion of Lane County Public Safety Issues City Manager Dennis Taylor thanked the council for providing an opportunity for District Attorney Douglas Harcleroad and Sheriff Jan Clements to discuss some of the public safety issues facing Lane County. Sheriff Clements said that the County's public safety issues were shared by Eugene because the criminal justice system was wholly interdependent. He asserted that he did not want funding from Eugene. He said it was important to look for a long-term solution to the public safety system and he wanted the City to understand the current system deficits and a collaborative effort to influence County priorities in the short-, intermediate-, and long-term. He related that Eugene could double its police force and every officer added would have diminishing effectiveness because of deficits in the greater system. He said that until there was adequate jail and correctional space, adequate prosecutorial capacity, adequate supervision through parole and probation, adequate youth services, and capacity, intervention, and prevention programming, the system would not make the most efficient use of Eugene's law enforcement officers. He asked Eugene elected officials and Eugene and Springfield judges to coalesce around a plan to adequately resource the juvenile and adult systems. He distributed a handout detailing the cuts that would result from the County's proposed $1,279,559 in reductions to the Sheriff's Office budget for fiscal years 2004-2005. Ms. Nathanson arrived at 5:35 p.m. District Attorney Harcleroad stated that Lane County had 400 police officers in nine agencies and Eugene's police force was the largest. He said those 400 officers generated 8,000 criminal cases in the system, with Eugene's officers contributing the majority. He said that some of the cases, misdemeanors, were dealt with in municipal court, but all of the cases went to the District Attorney's Office. He said the District Attorney's Office had 25 positions, although two were vacant. Mr. Harcleroad indicated that a recent evaluation of 76 district attorney offices around the country by the American Prosecutors Research Institute determined that his office was understaffed by seven positions. He said the County's proposed budget would result in a 19 percent decrease in funding and eliminate six positions, leaving 19 attorneys to handle 8,000 cases. He anticipated that 3,650 cases, of which 2,000 were misdemeanors, would no longer be prosecuted and in fact had already begun to reject cases such as harassment, criminal mischief, MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 1 Work Session trespassing, and second degree theft. Mr. Harcleroad related that if the proposed budget was adopted, his office would virtually be out of the drug prosecution business, including the sale of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines and the manufacture of those drugs. Ms. Solomon arrived at 5:40 p.m. Continuing, Mr. Harcleroad said that possibly 100 to 200 felony drug cases would be prosecuted if they were substantial quantity cases. He stated that in 2003 there were 1,550 drug charges equating to approximately 700 cases from the City of Eugene, and starting July 1, 2004, those would no longer be accepted. He said that felony property crimes under $1,500 in value would no longer be prosecuted, leaving homicides, felony assaults, other violent felonies, drunk driving, misdemeanor domestic violence, other violent misdemeanors, other violent juvenile crime, and some major burglaries and theft to be prosecuted by 19 attorneys. He remarked that the magnitude of cuts to the public safety system did not appear to be happening elsewhere in the country. He asked that the council relate concerns to county commissioners regarding prioritization of budget cuts. Ms. Taylor asked what type of youth services would be cut. Mr. Clements replied that the Serbu Center presently operated at one-third of its capacity and many of the intervention and prevention programs, such as Pathways, were reduced or eliminated. Ms. Taylor noted that one of the cuts listed on the handout called for no police patrol for four hours during the night and asked what would happen in a life-threatening emergency. Mr. Clements said in that type of situation, deputies would be called from home and overtime would be paid; other nonlife-threatening situations would be handled by the next shift. He said the hours not covered would likely be between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. when calls were down dramatically. Mr. Pap~ asked if other counties were experiencing similar problems. Mr. Harcleroad said data he had seen for comparable counties such as Washington, Clackamas, and Marion indicated that each of those areas had a significantly better property tax base with a higher rate and, in addition, Washington County had a public safety levy. Mr. Clements added that of Oregon's 36 counties, Lane County was second to the lowest in taxes Mr. Papd asked how the distribution of budget cuts was determined. Mr. Harcleroad said that he had placed the most importance on serious person felony crimes, followed by misdemeanor person crimes, felony property and serious drug crimes. He said that nonviolent misdemeanors were at the end of the list, except if there was a one-person crime wave. He commented that his approach to prioritization was consistent with that used by other district attorneys across the country. Mr. Pap~ asked what impact could be expected in the River Road/Santa Clara area. Mr. Harcleroad said it was likely that offenders would quickly learn the offenses for which there were no consequences and those types of offenses would be repeated. In response to a question from Mr. Pap6, Mr. Clements related that expenses had increased by six percent while revenue increased at three percent. He suggested that to stabilize the system, public safety should be moved in whole or in part out of the general fund and into a county-wide service district that was dedicated, permanent, and had a separately elected budget authority. He emphasized that this proposal was not about consolidation. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 2 Work Session Mr. Pap~ noted that the suggested service district presented a compression problem. Assistant City Manager said there were compression problems in some incorporated parts of the County and that a special district would still be subject to the structural problem of Oregon's property tax system and eventually experience expenses increasing faster than revenues. Mr. Meisner expressed appreciation for the proposed solution, but noted that eventually, the same budget crisis would occur. He encouraged the County to consider solutions that were not property tax-based. He agreed with Mr. Harcleroad's prioritization strategies and commented that the community's top concerns related to "quality of life" issues and perception of safety issues such as neighborhood petty crimes and traffic enforcement. He asked if there had been a public involvement process as part of the prioritization. Mr. Harcleroad replied that the public had not been involved. Mr. Meisner asked if Eugene police would respond to an emergency call during the County's non-service hours. Police Chief Bob Lehner responded that he had already discussed the issue with Mr. Clements and Eugene would provide assistance. Mr. Meisner noted that a district attorney had recently been hired by the City at higher pay and said that seemed inconsistent with assurances given to the council that Eugene's legal costs were lower and that contracting out was necessary. He expressed concern that the City was attracting staff from other agencies because it paid substantially more. Mr. Harcleroad responded that he was involved in an assessment of municipal prosecution functions and had recommended that the City could save money by either contracting out services or having the district attorney's office provide them. He said the City was saving significant money by contracting out; the problem was that his office was far beneath where it should be in terms of salaries. Ms. Bettman referred to elimination of the County's participation in the Interagency SWAT Team under the proposed cuts and asked what would happen if there was an armed hostage situation in the County. Mr. Clements said if the situation was stable and there was only a standoff, he would secure the perimeter and wait for the Oregon State Police SWAT to respond. He said if the situation was aggravated and hostages were being injured, he would invoke mutual aid and other law enforcement agencies would respond. He said, however, that mutual aid could not become a pattern because then City taxpayers were subsidizing law enforcement in greater Lane County. Ms. Bettman reviewed the list of cuts and the extent of services that could be obtained for $1.3 million. She said public safety should be a higher priority and noted that $1.6 million was spent by the County to rebuild the Frank Parrish Bridge. She observed that although those dollars were from a different fund, all the money was coming from the same pocket. She said that reprioritizing should be done before a service district was considered, and hoped that there were other options available. Mayor Torrey asked what percent of the crimes that would no longer be prosecuted were handled by indigent defense and what percent of the crime were associated with drug use. Mr. Harcleroad estimated that between 75 and 80 percent were handled by indigent defense and drugs were involved in at least 80 percent of the felony crime that occurred. Mayor Torrey asked whether it was likely that County residents outside of Eugene would support a public safety service district. Mr. Clements said that a coalition of criminal justice stakeholders and elected officials could convince the public to support a service district. He said there were several options for addressing problems county-wide, including establishing a split rate as a home rule county. Mr. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 3 Work Session Harcleroad noted that the economic impact of not prosecuting crimes was unknown but should be considered. Mr. Pap6 asked how the proposed cuts would be prioritized if County commissioners were willing to provide more funding. Mr. Harcleroad said it would be very difficult to identify which programs and services to restore if full funding was not provided. Mr. Pap6 suggested that the council request a work session with Judge Allen and Police Chief Lehner to discuss the effects of Lane County budget cuts. Mr. Taylor responded that it might be more useful to wait until the county commissioners had made their budget decisions known and staff had begun the analysis requested by the Budget Committee to prepare for County cutbacks. B. ITEMS FROM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER Ms. Bettman commended Public Service Officer Michelle Mortensen for her handling of inquiries and complaints from the public. She reminded councilors to submit their City Manager evaluations by May 14, 2004, in preparation for the May 26, 2004, work session. She asked that councilors indicate whether they had a preference for an executive session as part of that work session. Ms. Taylor commented that Milton Park was scheduled for an upgrade last year and asked when that was likely to occur as all of the equipment had been removed and the land was now bare. She referred to a recent email from Sharon Banks that addressed misinformation regarding the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA). Mr. Kelly reminded the public that Election Day was May 18, 2004, and ballots should be submitted to Lane County Elections. He noted a recent request in Springfield to amend the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan to redesignate 17 acres from industrial to commercial use, and questioned whether that was inconsistent with a shortage of industrial land. He asked the City Manager to determine what mechanism existed to ensure communication so that one jurisdiction within the metro area did not impact compliance of the entire area. Mr. Taylor said he would pose the question to staff from Eugene, Springfield, Lane County, and the Lane Council of Governments. Mr. Pap6 welcomed service to Eugene by Delta Airlines. He asked for a specific financial accounting of the Chiquita site that included purchase, legal expenses, demolition costs, and recovery from the federal purchase of a portion of the site and what the remainder should be sold for to obtain full reimbursement of costs. Mr. Pap~ asked if the City Manager had recommendations for the $9 million that could result from resolution of Qwest litigation. Mr. Taylor replied that he wanted to wait for the litigation to be settled and obtain a clear accounting of what was owed and how much had been collected and then address use of funds at a future work session. Mr. Pap~ commented that he had attended a preview of the new Jordan Schnitzer Art Museum at the University of Oregon and it was going to be a wonderful addition to the community. He observed that it was ironic that three councilors were committed to campaign spending limitations and campaign finance reform three years ago and now two of them were running for office and were not participating in campaign spending limitation. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 4 Work Session Mr. Meisner congratulated Friends of the Library on the success of the annual book sale, which raised $73,000. He reported that he had met with Amtrak officials from Washington DC, and they were so impressed by Eugene's depot project that they were looking for funds to assist the project. He noted that the Downtown Eugene, Inc., awards ceremony would be held on May 14, 2004. He asked that the Parks and Open Space Division work with citizens of the Santa Clara area to take some temporary steps to create some park amenities at the location of the proposed Filbert Meadows Park, which was currently vacant land. Ms. Solomon commented that a new park in the Bethel area, Bethel Community Park, was a wonderful addition to the community and when she visited it over the weekend it was filled with people. She reported that she had attended the eighth year celebration at the Service Station on Highway 99 and commended the City for helping to provide that service to citizens who needed it. Mr. Poling stated he had toured the proposed Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) project sites for next year. He said that projects would include adding pass-through lanes from Interstate 5 to Coburg Road and Coburg Road to Delta Highway on Highway 105, similar to the lanes from the Q Street on-ramp to Interstate 5. Referring to the proposed cuts to LRAPA funding, he asked if a liaison officer could be established between ODOT and the citizens of Lane County to ensure continuation of air quality monitoring and a local contact person in the event that LRAPA was eliminated. He asked what budget reductions LRAPA had experienced over the past three years. Mayor Torrey invited councilors to attend a dinner at the Cascadia Mayor's Conference to be held May 13, 2004, at Valley River Inn. Ms. Bettman stated her objection to Mr. Pap6's comments that she felt mischaracterized several councilors' intent. C. WORK SESSION: Public Works Accreditation Mr. Taylor introduced the item and commented that he had been impressed during the past year with the commitment to continuous improvement and best practices. He said that the Public Works Department over the last several years had been involved in a self-assessment as part of its efforts to become accredited under the American Public Works Association (APWA). Public Works Director Kurt Corey noted that the council would be receiving a Parks and Open Space periodic report that would answer questions from Mr. Meisner and Ms. Taylor regarding the status of neighborhood parks in their respective wards. Mr. Corey provided an overview of the accreditation process, using a slide presentation to illustrate the purpose of accreditation and the steps involved. He related that 15 agencies had completed the accredita- tion process and 31 were currently seeking accreditation; Eugene's Public Works Department would be the first agency in Oregon to become accredited. He listed the benefits of accreditation and stated that Public Works was pursuing it voluntarily for a number of reasons, including: · Budget issues and establishing a base of agency credibility · Succession planning and aging workforce issues MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 5 Work Session · Complex workplace/knowledge management · Success of other agencies in managing liabilities Mr. Corey reviewed the phases of the accreditation process and commended the process management efforts of staff members Margaret Boutell and Roland Hoskins. He related that self-assessment consisted of an internal review of the agency's practices combined with a comparison of recommended practices contained in the Public Works Management Practices Manual. He said that Eugene Public Works had responsibility for more than 400 practices encompassing 30 chapters of the manual. Once the self- assessment was completed, he said that the agency would bring all practices identified as needing improvement to an acceptable level of compliance. He said that Public Works was in full or substantial compliance with all of the 400 practices, although simply complying with the practices was not a guarantee that things were being done as effectively as possible. Mr. Corey indicated that the most critical phase was the on-site evaluation visit by a team appointed by APWA, which was scheduled for June 26-30, 2004. He said that accreditation was granted for a three- year period and annual written updates were required to demonstrate continuing compliance, followed by a re-accreditation process at the end of the three-year period. He invited councilors to an open house at the Roosevelt yard on May 20, 2004, in celebration of National Public Works Week. Mayor Torrey opened the floor to comments and questions. Mr. Poling asked what the cost of the accreditation process was and whether there were financial benefits to accreditation. Mr. Corey replied that in addition to staff time, he estimated the cost at between $10,000 and $15,000 over a two-year period. He said that accreditation would not lower insurance rates, but based on the experience of other accredited agencies, the net indirect effect was a significant reduction of liability claims because of a proactive maintenance plan and preventive maintenance practices that lowered the bottom line. Mr. Poling commented that citizens expected predictability from City government and accreditation would provide that level of predictability and was a positive step. Mr. Meisner observed he had often expressed the wish that City departments and senior staff could spend time on continuous improvement and Public Work's efforts were commendable. He questioned why the council was just being informed of the process when it had consumed thousands of hours of staff time and had an additional cost. He agreed that documenting operating practices as people retired was extremely important and again expressed concern that the council was for told of the project sooner. Mr. Corey replied that accreditation was undertaken by the staff because they cared about what they were doing. Mr. Taylor said that ensuring practices were at the highest level and measuring them against standards was essential. Mr. Kelly remarked that perhaps the greatest value of accreditation was providing a formal structure to evaluate practices and capture institutional knowledge in the face of a high retirement rate. He said he was pleased that those efforts were occurring. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 6 Work Session D. WORK SESSION: Downtown Work Plan Mr. Taylor introduced the item, which was a follow-up to the council's adoption of the Downtown Plan the previous month. He said that a number of items had been identified for implementation strategies and Associate Planner Nan Laurence would provide an overview of activities that were underway and obtain feedback from the council on how to implement the plan to obtain an exciting and rejuvenated downtown. Ms. Laurence stated that the first step was to implement the Downtown Plan and staff had reviewed all of the implementation strategies and example projects and identified which were currently being imple- mented and had funding and staffresources available. She said that the first 12 items in boldface on thc list of 116 strategies and projects on Attachment A to the Agenda Item Summary were underway with existing funding and staff resources; some of the strategies overlapped and some were discreet projects. Mayor Torrey called for comments and questions. Mr. Kelly said he was pleased that the Downtown Plan was adopted, but the work plan was not at all what he expected, consisting only of a list of items in the plan that indicated those being implemented. He asked that the Planning and Development Department (PDD) provide guidance on how to move beyond the 12 actions that were underway, including a suggested sequence of activities, relationships between projects, potential barriers to implementation, and recommendations on how the council could provide assistance to staff in terms of structure and direction. Ms. Laurence replied that the purpose of the list was to identify for the council those activities staff were currently able to undertake, consistent with the department's priority to implement the Downtown Plan. She said that future reports would include suggestions for other activities as funding and staff resources became available and a request for direction on timing and priorities. Mr. Taylor added that possibly multi-year actions plans could be developed during the council's annual strategic planning retreat. Mr. Kelly asked for a draft long-range strategic plan for the council to consider and respond to at its January 2005 retreat. Mr. Pap6 concurred with Mr. Kelly's request. He suggested that the list could be reduced by combining items that appeared to be similar or duplicative and asked how soon items 4 and 5, creation of a single zone to unify the downtown core and issuance of a request for proposals for purchase and development of the City-owned property adjacent to the new courthouse site respectively, would be done. Ms. Laurence responded that she could not provide a timeline of Item 5; however, Item 4 was being actively worked on and had already been the subject of a discussion with the Planning Commission. Mr. Pap6 questioned why the list contained an item relating to location of University of Oregon offices downtown. Ms. Laurence replied that the item arose from discussions between City staff and the University as a possible way to enhance thc connection between downtown and the University. Mr. Pap6 expressed concern with the strategy related to seeking funding and developing a plan for a new City Hall and police station, and suggested that the strategy to develop an adaptive use concept for Eugene Water & Electric Board's steam plant be reconsidered. Mr. Meisner concurred with some of the previous comments. He said he did not want an agenda item summary or full scoping for each item and preferred information on which plan an item related to, what department would be involved, and who was responsible for accomplishing the tasks. Hc pointed out that MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 7 Work Session several items on the list needed to be updated, using as an example the strategy to locate, retain, or expand local, state, and federal offices downtown that was actively in progress but not noted as such on the list. He said that supporting the continued residential use of structures in neighborhoods bordering downtown had been a priority for many years but he had not seen any progress on that item. Ms. Bettman asked for clarification on why the agenda item was before the council since no action was requested. Ms. Laurence replied that the first 12 items on the list had taken up available staff resources and funding and staff was seeking feedback from the council on whether there were other items on the list that should receive higher priority as time and funding became available. Ms. Bettman encouraged the City to be proactive in reinforcing the continued use of the Park Blocks for the Saturday Market and Farmer's Market. She said that over 800 vendors rotate through the markets, which act as small business and entrepreneurial incubators. She urged that any items related to improving conditions for the market receive a high priority. She also emphasized the use of environmental design as a crime prevention strategy. Ms. Taylor concurred with the need to move support for the Saturday Market and Farmer's Market to the top priority as they represented major downtown assets. She suggested that the City could stop charging for parking and address the issues of electricity and gray water. Ms. Nathanson raised the issue of new opportunities for owner-occupied housing in or near downtown and encouraged that as a way to improve the relationship and physical connection with the University. She emphasized the need to identify impediments to achieving higher density, mixed-use development and redevelopment downtown and barriers to creating mixed-use spaces for artists' residential and work spaces, as well as begin discussion of a new parking structure. Mr. Kelly acknowledged that all of the items on the list came directly from the Downtown Plan adopted by the council. He concurred with previous comments regarding support for the markets and suggested that when a project, such as electrical improvements for the markets, needed one-time funding or similar assistance that staff should bring the issue to the council. Ms. Bettman expressed surprise that Item 13, relating to helping employers locate, remain, and expand downtown through targeted use of economic tools and incentives was not shown as an active project as it appeared that there was ongoing activity. Ms. Laurence responded that the Development Division worked on that issue continuously as part of its regular work program and she had only highlighted those items that were specific projects. The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 8 Work Session ATTACHMENT C MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber--Eugene City Hall May 10, 2004 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Gary Pap6, Jennifer Solomon. CITY COUNCIL MEETING His Honor Mayor James D. Torrey called the regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. He noted that Ms. Solomon was excused for the first part of the meeting. 1. CEREMONIAL MATTERS - Proclamation of Police Week Mayor Torrey read a proclamation declaring May 18-25, 2004, to be "Police Week." Those present applauded the officers there to receive the proclamation. - Proclamation of Older Americans Month Mayor Torrey read a proclamation declaring May 2004 to be "Older Americans Month." He specifically recognized the contributions of Eugene citizens Thomas Kerns, Alice Plymel, Anna May Herbert, Alan Marshall, Kay Porter, Sharmane Coleman, and Wilma Crow. Those present recognized the individuals mentioned with a round of applause. 2. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Torrey reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Noting there were more people signed up to speak than the time allotted for the forum would allow, he asked the council president to place a motion before the body. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to increase the time for the Public Forum to one hour and to give each speaker two minutes to speak. The motion passed unani- mously, 7:0, Ms. Solomon not having arrived at the meeting. Bruce Miller, PO Box 50968, Eugene, shared photographs of improvements he believed were needed in downtown Eugene and noted he had provided copies of the photographs and a list of the members of Downtown Eugene, Inc. (DE1). He called for improvements in downtown and for DEI to move to the MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 1 Regular Meeting Eugene Hilton Hotel. Mr. Miller criticized the council's decision to sell the library for "only" $1.2 million. Eugene Enge, 2021 West 26th Place, representing the Eugene Opera, discussed the economic benefits of Eugene's resident companies. He said the companies provided employment and purchase locally. Through grants, dollars were imported into the community. Without the companies, he said, the community would not be as economically viable in attracting new businesses. He was personally aware of one company that chose to remain in Eugene because of its president's interest in the arts. Prices were affordable. He expressed disappointment with rising costs and reduced services, such as the decreased Hult Center box office hours. Jill Schwab, 90 East 40th Avenue, expressed hope the council would limit big box retail stores in Eugene. She called for a moratorium on retail businesses over 50,000 square feet. She said such establishments hurt the community economically. Communities are worse off when chain stores dominate their economies. Local businesses keep dollars in the community and support local employment. Ms. Schwab said studies show big box retail uses consume as much in taxes as they generate. She hoped that during the council's upcoming work session, it would consider the ordinances passed by other jurisdictions, which included limits on size, design review, and limits on uses. She asked the council to consider ways to support local businesses. John VanLandingham, 335 North Grand Street, identified himself an affordable housing advocate and Legal Services lawyer specializing in landlord-tenant law. He thanked the council for its support for affordable housing. He discussed the housing standards issue. Mr. VanLandingham said that 20 years ago he chaired the City Joint Housing Committee and had testified in favor of repealing the housing code with the understanding the council would return with a better housing code when the vacancy rate had declined. He said the State had four remedies to enforce the State's housing code but none were as good as the enforcement mechanism the council was being asked to consider. Mr. VanLandingham believed the City had an interest in protecting the health and safety of tenants as well as an interest in protecting the appearance of neighborhoods. He briefly reviewed the remedies available through the State. Sara Craemer, 1000 Patterson Street, representing Eugene Citizens for Housing Standards, briefly noted the coalition's partners. Many others were in the process of joining. She asked the council to prioritize the issue of rental housing and establish a housing standards ordinance that protected renters, who constituted a third of the community's residents. She asked for local enforcement of State laws. Ms. Craemer suggested the City's ordinance cover structural integrity, weatherproofing, heating, and plumbing. Debra McGee, 29755 Lusk Road, asked why Wal-Mart had the right to expand and the community had no right to stop it. She asked if developers' money spoke more loudly than the voice of citizens. She did not know if citizens would support allowing Wal-Mart to expand, but she thought it should be put to a vote of the elected officials. She supported Ms. Taylor's motion to place a six-month moratorium on such developments, saying it would provide time for real community debate. Michelle Loew, 1545 Bogart Lane, said she left her previous residence because she was given notice for complaining about a nonfunctioning toilet. When she called to let her landlord know the toilet was not functioning, the landlord was not responsive about when it would be fixed. She had gone without a toilet intermittently. When she won an argument with her property owner about the necessity of having a toilet, MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 2 Regular Meeting she received a notice to vacate the premises. She thought having a toilet was a human rights issue. She believed the issue of housing standards was a class issue, and that the interests of low-income residents were inadequately represented on the council. She said she would continue to work for adoption of housing standards. Scott Lu, 1805 Garden Avenue, #24, represented the Oregon Students of Color Coalition. He thanked the council for scheduling a work session on housing standards. He advocated for the adoption of housing standards, saying there are many people of color living in substandard housing, which he attributed to the City Council. The State remedies placed a large burden on tenants. The tenant had to contact the courts two days ahead of time to arrange for a translator. Going to court cost money. He called for a local enforcement mechanism that did not intimidate tenants. Housing was a human rights issue. Ron Teninty, 999 Brookside Drive, supported a moratorium on big box development to allow for the community to debate the issues. He acknowledged some such businesses were good community citizens while others relied on the taxpayer to subsidize their operations. He cited Wal-Mart as an example of the latter. He advocated for standards allowing the community to discern which developments were good and which were not. He provided staff with additional names of people in opposition to big box develop- ments. David I-Iinkley, 1350 Lincoln Street, #6, represented the Lincoln-Westside Neighbors. He said the association supported housing standards as being in the best interests of the neighborhood. He said that homeowners supported the standards as a way to improve the neighborhood's appearance; renters supported them as a needed protection. He noted that process of going to court took longer than the eviction process. Mr. Hinkley emphasized the importance of an enforcement mechanism. Adam Petkin, 625 East 13th Avenue, #5, incoming Student Body President at the University of Oregon (UO), said the establishment of housing standards was a major priority for his administration. He spoke of a situation in Minneapolis where students were killed due to smoke inhalation. The property manage- ment company involved had more than 660 complaints over seven years, but the City of Minneapolis did not respond until after the deaths. He thanked the council for scheduling a work session on the issue. He thought housing standards in Eugene were long overdue. The State system was inadequate. Eugene was the largest city in the state lacking such standards. He asked the council not to wait until a tragedy occurred. George Kjaer, 814 Lorane Highway, represented the Eugene Glass School, which was celebrating its fifth anniversary with a party on May 15, to which he invited the council. He reported that David Kline from the Sonora Glass School of Tucson, Arizona, recently visited Eugene and informed him that the City of Tucson had given him a grant and building to start a glass school. In addition, he noted that Lincoln City in Oregon recently started a glass studio and was trying to start a school as a result of the efforts of Brian Duncan, who originated the 2000 glass floats project. That effort doubled Lincoln City's winter motel occupancy rates. He asked the council to consider the school's contribution to the community, and suggested the council consider a week in October prior to an annual function conducted by the school to designate as "Glass Week." David Sherman, 3810 Watkins Lane, was present with other members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). He said IATSE rarely came to council meetings but on the occasion of its 75th anniversary wished to let the council know they were the people working backstage; if MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 3 Regular Meeting they were not seen, they were doing their jobs well. He recalled the local history of IATSE, from 1929, two years before movies had sound. Mr. Sherman noted that IATSE had worked with the Hult Center from its inception, sometimes doing highly technical work. Ruth Maura Atcherson, 325 Crocker Lane, speaking as a member of IATSE Local 675, said union members were present to put a face on the union. She spoke of the many tasks performed by IATSE members, and said it was the union's goal to make everything backstage happen seamlessly and if as by magic. She termed herself a "theater nerd" and said union members loved their jobs. She described the tasks she had performed at recent Hult Center events. She felt blessed to work in such a fine facility, and said she heard nothing but compliments from those who came to Eugene with road shows, who were thankful to encounter experienced union crews due to the amount of money involved in putting on such an event. David Paul Black, 3010 Olive Street, also represented IATSE. He said IATSE had been serving the community for many years and had worked at close to 6,000 shows at the Hult Center. He appreciated the union's relationship with the City and welcomed its input. He said the Hult Center was a local master- piece. He encouraged the council to strive for excellence as the union did when it worked on each show. He spoke of the benefit to the community of the arts and recreation. Mr. Black said the traveling shows as well as the smaller shows spoke favorably to each about Eugene as well. He looked forward to a continuing relationship between IATSE and the City. Gary Gillespie, 790 East 23rd Avenue, encouraged the council to reconsider its decision not to place a moratorium on big box stores. He continued to have questions about the expansion of Wal-Mart, such as questions about its impact on nearby wetlands. He asked why Eugene would encourage a business in direct competition with union positions. Employees of Wal-Mart supercenters made 30 percent less per year than comparable employees who work in the same field. One of every 115 Americans already worked at Wal-Mart, which had inadequate health benefits that cost employees a great deal out-of-pocket for minimal coverage. He pointed out that Wal-Mart based its advertising campaigns on what it had been sued for in the past, such as not hiring minorities and women in management positions. Gary Lyle, 1615 Oakpatch Road, said that businesses with no regard for wage and hour laws and that turn to the tax payers for subsidies were not good corporate citizens. He called for more community input into the subject of big box retail developments. Bruce York, 349 Suburban Avenue, noted his background in the retail grocery industry, which provided him with a decent wage, benefits, and a pension plan. His company's attitude toward its employees had changed since Wal-Mart came to town. Grocery companies were seeking wage concessions and reductions in benefits to compete with Wal-Mart. He advocated for a council discussion on the subject of big box retail uses, and for community input into that process. He said such developments were a drain on tax payer dollars. Art Farley, 1667 Fairmount Boulevard, noted the presence of three members of the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Comprehensive Parks Plan. He supported the council's decision to hold a work session on a possible ballot measure related to parks. He called for a bond measure to support acquisitions and a levy to support ongoing operations. He did not think an increase in the operations and maintenance budget could be ignored. He said the committee would provide a possible list of projects prior to the work session. Citizens want more park amenities, and should be given an opportunity to support a measure. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 4 Regular Meeting Roxie Cuellar, 2050 Laura Street, Springfield, a member of the parks planning committee, encouraged the council to hold a work session on a bond measure and levy. She said the parks planning process made it clear there were deficiencies in the system. It was easier to pass such a measure during a general election. In addition, interest rates were currently low. A three-year delay could see interest rates increases. She said the committee's proposal would be for a variety of parks serving all areas of the community. The amount would be affordable. She pledged to work on a campaign for a new measure, and thought the homebuilders' history argued its support for such a measure. Steve Johnson, 1825 Longview Street, supported a work session on a parks and open space measure. He acknowledged the short time line before the election but did not think that the council would lack options to take to the voters. He said the City was far below national standards in regard to parks. The money from the last bond measure would be spent before the new bonds were sold. He wanted to "keep the ball rolling" on parks improvements and acquisitions. He believed the City had been clear in the past when communicating with the voters that more was needed, and hoped that the measure was one of six or seven more he would see proposed. He also pledged to work for the measure, and noted the formation of a new Parks Foundation, which could also work on such a measure. Patrick Munyon, 1560 Chasa Street, supported a moratorium on big box retail and a study of their impacts on the community. He said the mai ority of Wal-Mart jobs left people in working poverty. He asked the council to preserve existing clean jobs in the community. Mr. Munyon also supported fair housing standards for rental housing, such as that modeled on that of Corvallis. Maddy Melton, 957 Chambers Street, outgoing University of Oregon Student Body President, asked the City to create a local enforcement system for the State housing standards. She thought the current system inadequate and called for a local system based on the Corvallis model. John Evans, 2355 West 14th Avenue, supported a moratorium on big box retail uses. He said businesses such as Wal-Mart are a drain on the economy. They pay low wages and encourage their employees to seek public assistance. In addition, Wal-Mart was anti-union. He was concerned about Wal-Mart's policy of driving down wages to third-world levels for the sake of corporate benefit. He thought Wal-Mart was at odds with American values such as respect for employees and investing in local communities. Steve Stevens, 572 Jefferson Street, a union grocery worker, discussed the impact of big box retail on communities. They drove down wages and forced the closure of local businesses. Increased competition from new supercenters in southern California would have a drastically negative impact on union employees. Taxpayers subsidized Wal-Mart's unwillingness to pay family wages in the form of housing, food, and wage subsidies. Wal-Mart shopped around the world for the cheapest goods, and the workers in those countries were treated even worse than Wal-Mart employees. While the company operated within its legal rights, it was at a high moral cost. Kathy Ging, 2787 Harris Street, noted the high percentage of Eugene residents who lived in rental housing and advocated for the establishment of local housing standards. She thought the cost of such a program nominal contrasted to high rents. She said she was a landlord but recognized that some landlords were not responsible. Ms. Ging supported the Corvallis model. She suggested that, given increasing densities, it was essential to prevent fires from electrical hazards. She pointed out that additionally, insulation improvements saved tenants money. Ms. Ging noted that the Amazon Community Neighbors MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 5 Regular Meeting had recently endorsed housing standards. Ms. Ging noted that Wal-Mart proposed to institute radio-frequency identification in all products. She urged the council to visit the Web site www.stoprfid.com Patrick Costello, 474 Brookside Drive, said he was part-owner of an apartment complex in the Whiteaker area, and a survey of his tenants indicated many were low-income. He suggested that housing standards, if adopted, be applied to both owner-occupied and rental housing. He said he would merely pass the costs of such a program on to his tenants, and suggested that would disproportionately hurt the low-income people in the community who lived in such housing. Mr. Costello said that $8 did not sound like much to some, but to those on a fixed income paying more than half their income in rent, it was a lot. Dawn Balzano Peebles, 2715 Jefferson Street, reviewed statistics that indicated a high percentage of Wal-Mart employees were low-income and eligible for food stamps. She noted the high combined net worth of three of the Walton heirs, and the fact the company sought $10 million in tax subsidies from a Colorado community. She noted that Wal-Mart had advertised heavily as buying American but purchased $12 billion in merchandise from China in 2001. Ms. Peebles said that as a mother, she was concerned about her children's future. In addition, to have a modest retirement, she needed to save $5,000 and earn eight percent return on her savings every year until age 65 to retire. She asked how she could do that if she worked at Wal-Mart. Mayor Torrey closed the Public Forum and called on the council for comments. Mr. Kelly thanked all those who spoke during the Public Forum. Regarding the housing standards, he clarified that the fee contemplated per unit was $8 year, not $8 per month. He thought the Corvallis model worked and the City needed no further study. He appreciated the comments made about big box retail uses. He expressed interest in knowing more about what communities could legally do regarding standards for such uses that did not violate interstate commerce laws. He also wanted examples of communities that instituted community standards, as opposed to land use standards, as a condition for such uses to locate. Mr. Kelly thanked IATSE members for the first-class, fine work they did at the Hult Center and Cuthbert Amphitheatre. Mr. Kelly determined from City Manager Dennis Taylor that no work session on a parks bond measure had been scheduled. Mr. Taylor suggested a June work session could be scheduled for further discussion. Mr. Kelly wanted some statistically valid surveying on the topic. Mr. Kelly supported the proclamation sought by Mr. Kjaer and thanked the glass school for the good work it did. Ms. Taylor echoed the remarks of Mr. Kelly and thanked the members of the housing standards coalition for their efforts. Ms. Taylor noted the failure of a motion she had offered to the council to establish a moratorium on big box retail uses and asked those supporting the moratorium to be persistent. She also thanked those who provided information regarding the issue. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 6 Regular Meeting Ms. Taylor said she was "always for parks." Mr. Pap6 thanked those who spoke for attending the meeting. He agreed with statements made by Ms. Nathanson at an earlier meeting; it was not that the community did not have housing standards, it lacked standards with regard to mold and spores and he questioned whether the City had the resources to create those standards. He said the issue was enforceability rather than standards unless something could be done about mold. Mr. Pap6 noted he had been on the council for six years and Mr. Meisner had been on for eight years, and this was the first time the issue of housing standards had formally come before the council in that time. Mr. Papd thanked Mr. Johnson, Mr. Farley, and Ms. Cuellar for their work on the parks planning committee. Ms. Nathanson noted her previous work on housing standards. She said no one had referenced a 1997 report on housing standards done by Marshall Kandall that she hoped council members would review. It had proposals for solutions. Ms. Bettman apologized that the council had to reduce the time available for individual speakers during the Public Forum. She thanked those who testified and said it was heartening to see so much participation about such a wide variety of issues. She indicated she would like to hear more about the topic of electrical services during the upcoming work session. Regarding the possibility of the council holding a work session on a parks funding measure, Ms. Bettman indicated she would like to see some firm numbers associated with the committee's proposal and how that would impact a potential bond measure for a civic center and the impact of compression. In addition, she would like information about the increased cost of operations and how that would impact the library, for example. Mr. Poling noted his attendance at a recent performance of "Miss Saigon" and thanked IATSE members for the work they do. Speaking to the issue of housing standards, Mr. Poling indicated his interest in more information and thanked Ms. Nathanson for offering the council a motion to hold a work session on a date certain, allowing staff to get more information and the council to hear from more members of the public. He said such a program would need mediation and arbitration as well, and hoped to hear more about those topics at the work session. Mayor Torrey called for a five-minute break. Ms. Nathanson left during the break. 3. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - February 20, 2004, Goals Session - February 21, 2004, Goals Session - March 8, 2004, City Council Meeting - April 12, 2004, City Council Meeting MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 7 Regular Meeting B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda Ms. Bettman, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to approve thc items on the Consent Calen- dar. Ms. Bettman noted her submission of corrections to the minutes. Mayor Torrey deemed them accepted as submitted. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 6:0; Ms. Nathanson was excused for the balance of the meeting, and Mr. Pap6 was out of the room at the time the vote was taken. 4. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Concerning the Downtown Area; and Proposed Amendments to Sections 3.344, 4.871, and 4.872 of the Eugene Code, 1971 Mr. Taylor said that Police Chief Bob Lehner had, at his request, revisited the ordinance after consulting with community groups. Chief Lehner was present to discuss the proposed changes. He described the department's meeting with a community coalition that included the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), saying the end result were changes limited to two areas: 1) the definition of commercial gatherings; 2) and the removal of the permit requirement for noncommercial gatherings of more than 25. He anticipated the latter topic would be addressed further when the council reviewed the parade permit ordinance. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Bruce Miller, PO Box 50968, Eugene, generally criticized the City's efforts in downtown. He called for mayor, council, and staff changes and praised the efforts of the City of Corvallis in its downtown. He called for more "people" persons in downtown. Brian Michaels, representing the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, noted his submission of correspon- dence between the City and his organization. By and large, he commended the revised ordinance but he believed the exclusion element of the ordinance should be deleted. Mr. Michaels disagreed that the area around the Broadway Plaza was a park. He thought the streets and byways of the community should be free for all citizens to pass. He did not think action taken in the interests of the merchants was not necessary as no one was open late at night and there were few merchants in the area. Mr. Michaels believed that as a result of the curfew on the Broadway Plaza, people would be targeted for standing on the streets between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. M. Brooks Robert Shaw asked the council to eliminate the curfew at the Broadway Plaza. She found it ironic that there was a curfew in the plaza that housed the memorial to author Ken Kesey, a great individual. She thought the curfew would create an undesirable class of people. All should have access to public areas at all time. She asked the council to consider removing all City curfews, starting with this one. Bob Cassidy, 1401 East 27th Avenue, expressed appreciation to Chief Lehner for his work. He joined in MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 8 Regular Meeting the remarks of previous speakers regarding the need to remove the curfew at Broadway Plaza, which he thought unreasonable and deserving of further examination. Majeska Seese-Green, 549 Van Buren Street, represented the Whitaker Community Council's Police Issues Committee, which had been involved in the community coalition. She expressed appreciation for the opportunity to work through issues with the chief and the department. She agreed with other speakers about the curfew at Broadway Plaza. She said the curfew related to the issue of profiling as one could imagine who the curfew would be enforced against, suggesting that a person's age, appearance, and socio- economic class would be factors. Ms. Seese-Green asked the curfew be removed from the ordinance. Mayor Torrey closed the public hearing. He called for council questions and comments. Mr. Kelly thanked those testifying and thanked the community coalition, Police Department staff, and Chief Lehner for their work. He said it appeared from the language in the ordinance that it would be illegal to stand on the Broadway Plaza at midnight but it would be legal to stand at the corner of Willamette Street and Broadway at the same time. He asked what the police perceived as the public safety difference between those hanging out on the plaza as opposed to those "hanging out" on the corner. Ms. Taylor was pleased by many of the changes being proposed and encouraged that Chief Lehner was working to make the ordinance more reasonable. She supported the elimination of the curfew and asked that a motion be prepared to that effect when the council took action on the ordinance. She also indicated opposition to the fines included in the ordinance but thought that concern might be addressed by the removal of the curfew. Mr. Pap~ did not interpret the prohibition on being in the area in question as a curfew. City Attorney Glenn Klein indicated he would address that issue in the staff response. Mr. Pap6 referred to Section 3.344(2)(a)(1) of the ordinance, which was related to the items to be sold in downtown, and asked if the City had a standard for what could be sold. Mr. Klein indicated he would also answer that as part of the staff response. Ms. Bettman also thanked the community coalition, Chief Lehner, and department staff. She thought the coalition effort a good model for other issues and believed it had produced a better ordinance. She supported the City's current neighborhood parks curfew as it made the parks safer, and the curfew was generally supported by residents. However, because of the many entertainment venues downtown and the City's hopes for increased housing there, she suggested the curfew on the plaza could be extended to 1 a.m. She asked staff to discuss in the staff response whether that was a workable compromise. Mayor Torrey wanted to know if the City's concern about security on the plaza related to the dark corners there, and suggested it was better to light those corners than to institute a curfew that many might find confusing. Mr. Taylor indicated he would follow up in the staff response. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 9 Regular Meeting 5. ACTION: An Ordinance Concerning Apportionment of Assessments for Alley Improvements; Amend- ing Section 7.175 of the Eugene Code, 1971; and Providing an Effective Date Ms. Bettman, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved that the council adopt Council Bill 4871, an ordinance concerning alley assessments. Ms. Bettman expressed concern about the equity of the ordinance, saying that in some cases, homeowners might not benefit from an alley improvement. She said the ordinance was intended to solve a problem in the West University Neighborhood (WUN) but was applicable citywide. Noting the average WUN assessment was estimated to be between $1,500 and $5,000, she asked if the same would be true for other assessments in other parts of the community. City Engineer Mark Schoening said yes, given that most alleys in the community were about the same dimensions. The difference would be the land uses that abut the alley; in the WUN, multi-unit properties would pay the greater share, while in other areas the land use factors might not have as much of an effect as in a commercial neighborhood. Ms. Bettman believed a proliferation of multi-unit development could result in a situation where those who did not want the alley improved would have to pay for such improvements anyway. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to amend the motion to add a new subpara- graph (3) to Eugene Code 7.175(6), to read as follows: "Notwithstanding any other provi- sion in Chapter 7 of this code, no parcel shall be assessed for an alley improvement with- out the consent of the owners of all parcels to be assessed for the improvement in the block where the alley is located." Mr. Kelly acknowledged Ms. Bettman's concern but did not think the amendment solved the problem. If applied in the WUN, the motion would guarantee no alleys in that neighborhood would be improved. That was not the goal of the joint City of Eugene-University of Oregon Task Force on the West University Neighborhood. Mr. Kelly pointed out that in other areas of the city, the issue would be who initiated the improvement petition. In the WLrN, the council initiated the local improvement district. He thought the council would look very carefully at council-initiated districts in the future, given their cost. Mr. Pap6 determined from Mr. Klein that the alley improvements could be funded in such a manner that allowed property owners to pay off the debt over ten years. Mr. Meisner also concurred with Mr. Kelly's remarks. He did not support the amendment and supported the ordinance as proposed only for the area in question. He did not regard the ordinance as a model for other neighborhoods. It was his sense it would be much more costly to do such improvements in other neighborhoods, where most alleys were not yet paved. Roll call vote; the amendment to the motion failed, 5:2; Ms. Bettman and Ms. Taylor vot- ing yes. Ms. Taylor said she could not support assessing people for something they did not want, would not benefit them, and that they might not be able to afford, even over a ten-year period. Mr. Kelly pointed out that in addition to the ten-year period for repayment, there was also a low-income MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 10 Regular Meeting subsidy available to residents. Ms. Bettman did not support the motion because of the burden it would place on homeowners, particularly in the WUN. She noted the modifier for multi-unit development was only three times that of a single- family residence, which she did not find equitable. She said the City wanted to encourage homeowners in the WUN, but she thought the added financial burden might be enough to discourage people from living in the neighborhood altogether. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 5:2; Ms. Bettman and Ms. Taylor voting no. 6. ACTION: An Ordinance Concerning Ambulance Services; Amending Sections 2.606, 2.1990, 3.005, 3.862, 3.864, 3.866, and 3.990 of the Eugene Code, 1971; and Repealing Sections 3.850, 3.852, 3.854, 3.856, and 3.858 of that Code Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief Tom Tallon was present for the item. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to adopt Council Bill 4870, an ordinance conceming ambulance services. Mr. Kelly said the ordinance did not appear to prohibit the subcontracting of emergency transport. He asked for confirmation. ChiefTallon referred Mr. Kelly to the language developed by the City Attorney to address Mr. Kelly's concerns. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved to amend the motion by amending the first sentence of Subsection 2.606(5) by deleting the word "operating" and inserting the phrase "providing for non-emergency care" between the words "is" and "was." The sentence would then read "No person shall operate an ambulance vehicle or provide ambulance services within the corporate limits of the city unless such person is designated as the ambulance service provider for the city under Lane County Ambu- lance Service Area Plan, or is providing non-emergency care as a subcon- tractor to the designated service provider." Mayor Torrey called for discussion on the amendment. Mr. Kelly said the amendment merely clarified what staff had been stating as its intent. Responding to a question from Mr. Pap6 about the potential that the.City could subcontract for emergency ambulance services at some time in the future, Mr. Taylor said staff would have to bring such a change back to the council before subcontracting for emergency ambulance services. Chief Tallon added that the City continually evaluated its ability to provide a sustainable transport service. He was concerned about the City's ability to provide the service in the future, and believed the ordinance would help the depart- ment to maintain the quality of the service and stabilize its funding. Responding to a question from Ms. Bettman, Chief Tallon said any other party wishing to provide the MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 11 Regular Meeting service would have to meet three criteria: 1) ability to provide the service, 2) financial viability, and 3) no negative impact on other providers. He said it would be difficult for another party to assume the City's ambulance service area. Mayor Torrey said as the way he interpreted the amendment, it eroded the authority of the manager to negotiate with the bargaining unit. Mr. Klein said the amendment would allow the manager to subcontract for non-emergency ambulance service. He acknowledged the amendment also prohibited the manager from subcontracting for emergency ambulance care, which did limit the manager's discretion to some degree. Ms. Bettman said that Mr. Kelly's amendment merely clarified, rather than changed, staff's actual intent. Mr. Pap6 asked if the amendment would have an impact on the City's contract with the Santa Clara Fire District. ChiefTallon saidno. Roll call vote; the amendment to the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 7:0, and became Ordinance No. 20320. Mr. Klein noted that the assessment ordinance (Council Bill 4871) considered by the council had not passed because it required a two-thirds vote in support. Mayor Torrey adjourned the meeting at 9:34 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 12 Regular Meeting ATTACHMENT D MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room--City Hall May 12, 2004 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Gary Pap6, Jennifer Solomon. His Honor Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. A. WORK SESSION: Update on Cultural Services Division City Manager Dennis Taylor introduced the item, saying that the City's cultural infrastructure was one of the things that made it unique. He said the intent of the presentation was to share the division's short- and long-term plans with the City Council. He introduced Library, Recreation, and Cultural Services (LRCS) Department Director Angel Jones, who asked the Cultural Services Advisory Committee members to indicate their presence by standing. Ms. Jones thanked the committee members for their attendance at the meeting. She then introduced Cultural Services Division Manager Robb Hankins. Ms. Solomon arrived. Mr. Hankins provided a PowerPoint presentation on the Cultural Services Division, copies of which were made available to the council. Mr. Hankins reported on the challenges faced by the division, noting that operations had been contracting for some time. He outlined some of the changes made by the division to meet its challenges, which included online ticket sales and "Wild Card Wednesdays." Mr. Hankins said that ticket sales remained constant while expenses grew, and he anticipated the gap between revenues and expenses would continue to exist and that the reserves would be drawn down. He noted the repairs needed at the Hult Center. Mr. Hankins acknowledged the challenges facing the Cuthbert Amphitheater, such as how to be competitive, were similar to those facing the Hult Center. Mr. Hankins said the division could no longer survive by cutting expenses, and planned to continue to contain costs while increasing sales, attracting new audiences, and creating new products. He anticipated the division would go beyond merely being a landlord for events. He noted the recent appearance of "Larry the Cable Guy" at the Hult Center, a comic on the "Blue Collar Comedy Tour," whose perform- ance had been sold out and who had attracted new audiences to the center. Mr. Hankins said that the Hult Center needed to find out how to reach out to more diverse audiences, and it needed to be a community center for all residents as well as a performing arts center. Ms. Nathanson arrived. Mr. Hankins emphasized the return on investment the community realized from the Hult, saying that every time a visitor stayed overnight in Eugene, the division received $2.88. He said the division was working MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 2004 Page 1 Work Session on weekend packages built around the arts to attract more visitors to stay overnight in Eugene. In addition, he wanted the division to partner to a greater degree than in the past with the Hilton Convention Center to host conventions of all kinds, because every dollar of room tax revenue generated another $5.58 in the community. Mr. Hankins recommended the City revisit the Hult Center's priorities, and that the center begin to host more world-class artists and entertainers as well as be a true home for the community's arts organizations. He advocated for the division to take advantage of changes that were happening downtown, and to help make downtown a true arts center. Mr. Hankins spoke of the City's several resident companies and commended the quality of their performances. He also noted the many arts venues that now existed downtown and suggested the City could build on its resident companies and those other venues. Mr. Hankins called for a Cultural Services Division that looked at the "big picture," marketing Eugene arts on a national basis, promoting cultural tourism, and working to bring the arts to all citizens. Mr. Hankins encouraged the councilors to support the arts and to talk about the arts at every opportunity. He called for more arts spaces in downtown, and suggested the City had buildings it could use for that purpose. He said University of Oregon students should be encouraged to be in downtown; he believed that would be one of the fastest ways to enhance downtown. Mr. Hankins reported that on a recent Saturday night, he had the opportunity to watch three very different cultural events: the McCornack Elementary School production of the musical "The Sound of Music," the Eugene Concert Choir performance of Verdi's "Requiem," and, an outdoor performance by fire jugglers and drummers at the Cafe Paradiso. He suggested that experience could only happen in Eugene. Mr. Hankins suggested as Eugene's new slogan "America's Greatest City of the Arts and the Outdoors." He said a recent book by Richard Florida indicated economic development of the future was in the arts and the outdoors. Mr. Hankins said the 25th anniversary of the Hult Center was the perfect time to celebrate how far Eugene had come, and to prepare to create an even greater future. Mayor Torrey called on councilors for comments and questions. Mr. Kelly emphasized the importance of the division to the City's civic and economic life and suggested the arts were what kept Eugene from being a collection of zip codes. He said the arts brought joy, education, and awareness. Mr. Kelly believed the arts were a means of calibrating the community's "moral compass." He applauded the division's work and Mr. Hankins' enthusiasm, as well as his willingness to be creative. He believed the center needed to remain both publicly owned and publicly managed, with broad council oversight. He wanted to see more links with other performing arts groups so Eugene could be marketed as a package arts tour. Ms. Bettman thanked staff for the presentation and commended Mr. Hankin's enthusiasm and vision. She agreed with the points Mr. Hankins made in his presentation. She supported looking for niche ways of doing sustainable economic development, and felt the presentation "hit the nail on the head." Ms. Bettman said the connection between youth and the arts should not be underestimated. All the resident arts companies had a connection to the different schools and private dance teachers, and the relatives of the participating youth come to all the performances, enhancing the community connection. The same was true of music. The resident companies were particularly important as music and arts were being reduced at the schools. Ms. Bettman did not want to overlook that. She thought the community did MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 2004 Page 2 Work Session a good job in supporting sports and sports fields and said that should be extended equitably to cultural opportunities. She looked forward to the implementation of the vision presented. Ms. Bettman suggested the City could begin its marketing in a more modest and regional effort and asked what the City was doing in terms of marketing to communities such as Ashland and Medford. Mr. Hankins said the effort was just beginning, and he would know more when the growth plan was completed in the next few months. Ms. Jones added that the City could not longer afford to be just a landlord. In the past it had not actively recruited events, but limited resources forced staff to think more creatively and collaboratively. For that reason, the division was looking at a growth strategy rather than a reduction strategy. Mr. Taylor said the issue was linked to many other issues, such as downtown revitalization. He said the division was not proposing to do "less with less"; staff wanted to find ways to make things grow and build on the vitality that made Eugene unique. He believed the 25th anniversary of the Hult Center was a chance to create a focal point around an action plan. Ms. Nathanson concurred the City could no longer afford to be merely a landlord. She recalled past proposed reduction strategies aimed to close Cultural Services Division facilities, and was thankful the City had not taken that course. She found the presentation to be exciting and important, and thanked Mr. Hankins. She agreed with everything that had been said, and pledged her assistance. Mr. Pap~ emphasized the importance of enhancing the connection between the City and University's arts events, facilities, and institutions. Mr. Pap~ agreed with Mr. Kelly about the importance of keeping the Hult Center and Cuthbert Amphi- theater in public ownership, but did not necessarily agree that they should be managed publicly. He did not think the City should foreclose that option if necessary. Mayor Torrey expressed appreciation for the enthusiasm of Mr. Hankins and for the work of the advisory committee. He thanked committee members. He said the council should not take for granted that the center would always be in place or that its importance was recognized by all. He said he had recently heard a suggestion that crosswalks in the downtown be marked artistically with ducks to emphasize the connection between the University of Oregon and the City, and suggested such a thematic approach could be taken to create more a connection to the University. Mayor Torrey suggested a new off-ramp from 1-5 at Franklin Boulevard could be signed creatively and artistically from the freeway to the downtown in a way that took advantage of the remodeled arts museum on campus and downtown arts-related activities. Mayor Torrey encouraged staff to keep pushing on the council regarding the importance of the Hult Center. Ms. Taylor thanked staff and the committee for their work. She spoke of a recent visit she made to the Hult Center, where she heard the Eugene Concert Choir and was able to forget about everything else. She noted the high priority she personally placed on the arts and recreation. Ms. Taylor thought it important to build on the assets the community already had. She concurred with Mr. Hankins about the importance of the University of Oregon and said she considered the Farmers Market to be a form of artistry. Ms. Taylor MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 2004 Page 3 Work Session emphasized the importance of the Hult Center' s resident companies and hoped they were not priced out of their ability to use the center. Mayor Torrey solicited a second round of comments. Mr. Kelly noted the council's goal for accessible culture and thriving recreation, and hoped the council kept that in mind during its service prioritization efforts. Mr. Kelly thanked the Cultural Services Department Advisory Committee for its hard work and also expressed his appreciation for Hult Center's resident companies. He understood how much they did with limited resources. Mr. Kelly also had an interest in greater connections between the University of Oregon and the City. He noted that he lectured occasionally at the University and learned that many students never went down- town. He thought downtown was a logical place for students to hang out. He thought there was a greater opportunity for outreach to that community, and questioned who did that outreach. Mr. Kelly suggested that the Cultural Services Division could coordinate that effort, which should also involve the Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County (CVALCO) and downtown merchants and restaurateurs. He thought there were tremendous opportunities to build upon. In response, Ms. Jones noted that the division had formed a steering committee focused on that effort. The committee included representatives of the University of Oregon, Lane Community College, and the Northwest Christian College, and the first meeting was scheduled for May 16. She hoped the steering committee would help shape how communica- tion and collaboration occurred and that the effort would bring more students to downtown, creating new revenue-generating activities. Mr. Kelly said the Parks Blocks Placemaking Committee had discussed the potential of programming live music downtown, but Downtown Eugene, Inc. had no funding to coordinate those activities. He suggested the Cultural Services Division take on that task. B. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Eugene City Council met in executive session in accordance with Oregon Revised Statute 192.660(1)(h). The meeting adjourned at 1:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 2004 Page 4 Work Session